Cindy Crawford says Oprah made her feel like ‘chattel’ in 1986 interview: ‘So not OK’
Cindy Crawford has come to see her first appearance on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in a different light, nearly 40 years after it aired.
The iconic model who rose to fame in the 1990s reflected on the early stages of her career in the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Super Models,” which premiered Wednesday. In 1986, Winfrey hosted Crawford — who was 20 years old at the time — and Elite Model Management founder John Casablancas to introduce the rising star to her audience.
“Did you always have this body?” Winfrey asked Crawford, before asking her to stand and show off her figure. “Now this is what I call a body.”
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Reflecting on the interview, which was featured in the docuseries, Crawford said she “was like the chattel or a child — be seen and not heard.”
She added: “When you look at it through today’s eyes... Oprah’s like, ‘Stand up and show me your body... Show us why you’re worthy of being here.’”
Crawford, who is the mother of model and “Bottoms” actor Kaia Gerber, said she did not realize how she felt in the moment of the interview. Now decades after the exchange, the model said “that was so not OK really, especially from Oprah.”
After the 1986 interview resurfaced Wednesday, Winfrey’s team reportedly made a clip of the conversation private and unavailable for public viewing on YouTube.
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Representatives for Winfrey did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the pilot, Crawford, 57, recalls having her hair cut for a shoot with fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier. She said she was unaware that stylists would transform her wavy locks into a boy-ish cut.
“I was so traumatized,” she said. “I really felt I was not seen as a person who had a voice in her own destiny.”
In addition to Crawford, Apple’s four-episode “The Super Models” also features Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. The stars reflect on their careers and the fashion scene of the ’90s — in all its glamour and controversies.
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